Oliver Twist

Today, being a half day, I decided to go see Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist. Twist is one of those stories that everyone knows the basics of, even if they haven't read the book or seen an adaptation of it. Simply put, it's the story of Oliver, an orphan. He runs away from the workhouse he is sent to and goes to London. Upon his arrival he meets the Artful Dodger and his companions who work for the creepy, yet pittiful, Fagin, played by Ben Kingsly. When Dodger is caught stealing a hankerchief, Oliver is framed. However, the old man who was the victim takes pity on Oliver and cares for him. However, when Fagin and his friend Bill Sykes find out about this, they are determined to get Oliver back, so he doesn't squeel to the police. Oliver then tries all he can to get back to the kind man who cared for him, and escape the clutches of Fagin, Sykes, and their gang.

I must say that this is one of my all-time favorite books. While I was not a fan of A Tale of Two Cities when I read it last year, I am a fan of this book. As is typical Dickens, there is a lot of description and detail, which is wonderfully portrayed in the costumes and sets of the film. There is nothing to deter you from thinking you are in 19th century London. As is typical Polanski, this is not a bright tale. He uses dark, rich colors and allows the weather to help him set the scene. The only sunshine in the tale is when Oliver escapes the clutches of Fagin and is at the home of Mr. Brownlow, the man who takes him in. Always one to include real life in his work, there is a scene where, after walking his shoes off, litteraly, Oliver is given shoes much too large for his feet, and Polanski was after WWII. While I have not seen many of Polanski's films, I do adore him.

The acting is superb. Kingly is brilliant as Fagin. He uses just the right mix of sincerity, malice, and crazy to create the classic character. By the end of the film, he has succsessfully made you pity the wretched creature Fagin is. Newcomer Barney Clark is so adorable as the mistreated Oliver. From the momen you meet him until the last fram, you are entranced by the innocence of Oliver, continually rooting for him to escape his unfortunate circumstances. Leanne Rowe is the Nancy I always imagined, kind, yet hindered by her circumstances.

The score is wonderful. Being an Oboe player, I appriciated the use of my instrument in the score, lol. Mostly string-based, it matched both the time and feelof the picture.

Overall, a wonderful movie. I do caution that parents take heed of the PG-13 rating, as there are some scenes I certainly would not want my 7 year old sister to see.